Team Po Po

Prentice Beverly of FullCourt.com was in Franklin, TN at the Adidas Memorial Showdown tournament to check out the talented young ladies participating. He was impressed with Team Po Po’s Deja Faulkner.

Check out the evaluation:

Deja Faulkner 6-0, Team Po Po 14U

If you’re looking for an athletic all-around player that plays the game the way it is supposed to be played, then the 6-0 Faulkner is your prospect. She has a solid body with long arms that take up space in the lane. Faulkner plays a very aggressive game at both ends of the court. She has a nice low-post game and finishes well in the paint or gets to the line where she is a good free-throw shooter. Faulkner also showed that she has a smooth face-up game. She used her long arms and good leaping ability to dominate the boards and push the ball up the floor. Defensively, Faulkner defended the low post and perimeter extremely well with a fearless, reckless abandon, blocking several shots. Faulkner has a tremendous upside a BCS caliber prospect.

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Team Po Po continued there momentom from the previous week’s performance in the Rage on the River into the Adidas Memorial Showdown in Franklin, TN. The team finished with a record of 5-1 by defeating the Alabama Roadrunners, Rocket City Blackhawks, Southern Exposure, Mississippi Heat, and TNBA in the championship game and losing a close and hard fought game against Tennessee Rush.

Team Po Po is an organization based on position skill development first and this tournament really showed that the player’s individual games are beginning to grow.

Deja Faulkner had a monster performance against the Rocket City Blackhawks scoring 27 points and averaged 14 for the tournament. In the opening game, post Rachelle Parks held the boards down and lead the team in scoring with 14. Keirra White stepped up her leadership and point production from the point guard position averaging almost 8 points in 4 of 6 games. Rising freshman, Sydney Malone, had a breakout game and lead the team in scoring with 12 against Southern Exposure. As the tournament went on, Brenda Fields displayed that she is developing into a nice off the dribble performer.

Team Po Po will take a break from tournament play during June as the players participate in camps with their high school teams. The team will be back in action in July participating in NCAA Certified events,  Battle of the Borro and Music City Madness,  in the Nashville area.

After a month long break from competition, Team Po Po hit the hardwood for the 2012 Rage on the River in Memphis finishing second place with a 3-2 record. The long break showed as the team looked slow and sluggish in a lost to an extremely talented and aggressive Arkansas Mavericks squad.

The team came back strong winning the second, third and fourth games against the Memphis Bobcats, DFW Elite and Tennessee Glory. Post, Rachelle Parks, had a monster game against DFW scoring 17 points off jump shots at the block, rebound stick backs and converting at the free throw line. Shooting guard, Brenda Fields, demonstrated her shooting abilities off the dribble in the game against Tennessee Glory while leading the team with 10 points.

Team Po Po won their way into their first championship game of the season against previous tournament opponent Arkansas Mavericks. Team Po Po came out ready this time with aggressive defensive which limited the Mavericks. Deja Faulkner and Jasmine Suggs were also too much for the Mavericks on the offensive end. Faulkner worked out on the block scoring 6 of her 10 points in the first half. Suggs also demonstrated her overall scoring abilities from the 3 point line and off penetrating during the first half with 9 of her 14 points. Unfortunately, the experienced Arkansas Mavericks wore down a tired Team Po Po in the second half.

This past weekend was an opportunity for Team Po Po to see how they compete on a national level and to bond as a group. Competing in  Peach State Basketball’s Tip Off Classic also gave the team an opportunity to compete against 4 different styles of teams.

In a tournament of this magnitude, you will have your ups and downs, especially with a rebuilt team. Finishing with a 2-2 record and a 3rd place finish – Team Po Po is off to a great start to the season.

The highlight of the tournament was the 3rd place game against Alabama Southern Starz. Coming into the game after a disappointing 18 point loss and to win against a taller, stronger and more physical team showed just how much the players and team had grown in the event.

Deja Faulkner lead the team in scoring with 13 points while using her low post back to the basket and face up moves. Destiny Henderson added 8 points while doing double duty as shooting guard and point guard. Aliyah Herod provided key buckets at the point guard position adding 6 points. Brenda Fields displayed her penetration skill with 6 points. Jasmine Suggs scored in a variety of ways, including  behind the arc and free throw line, to add another 6 points.

During the 2012 Spring NCAA evaluation period, Team Po Po will be traveling to Suwanee, GA to compete in the Peach State Basketball Tip Off Classic.

The past weekend the team used the MAYB-West Memphis tournament as a tune up finishing with 1 win and 2 loses. This may seem like a disappointing record to some. However, this was the first opportunity for the team to come together as a group and play in tournament competition.

The team was lead by, Jasmine Suggs, who finished the tournament averaging 10 points a game. Scoring in a variety of ways: 3 pointers, short jump shots and off penetration. During the third game of the tournament, Deja Faulkner had an awesome showing in her first game. Putting up 14 points and adding a dominate post presence and intensity to the team. Team Po Po is looking to build off the MAYB event and look forward to a nice showing in the Tip Off tournament from all players.

Team Po Po will tip off on Friday, April 20 at 1:10pm. Alabama Shockerz will be the first opponent in the Pre-Bracket game. Saturday, Team Po Po will continue in the Red bracket at 10:50am against SC Hornets.

The complete schedule can be found here.